


Car Rides, Birthdays, and a Feather

by ra9isdead



Category: BnHA, mha, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Confessions, F/M, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gen, Jealous Takami Keigo | Hawks, Love Confessions, Love Letters, M/M, Misunderstandings, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-09
Updated: 2021-02-09
Packaged: 2021-03-15 10:14:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29312421
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ra9isdead/pseuds/ra9isdead
Summary: You disliked long car rides. But for your friends, you'd bear it.See, it was her birthday today and she wanted to have her party at a restaurant near where she lived in Shibuya. Unfortunately, you lived nowhere near Shibuya, making the transit all that much more meaningful.Hours worth of driving was never your idea of fun. You found it hard to focus for so long,  which made long-distance trips such a hassle. Luckily, you weren't alone this time.
Relationships: Takami Keigo | Hawks/Reader
Comments: 2
Kudos: 24





	Car Rides, Birthdays, and a Feather

**Author's Note:**

> Based off a dream I had.

You disliked long car rides. But for your friends, you'd bear it.

See, it was her birthday today and she wanted to have her party at a restaurant near where she lived in Shibuya. Unfortunately, you lived nowhere near Shibuya, making the transit all that much more meaningful. 

Hours worth of driving was never your idea of fun. You found it hard to focus for so long, which made long-distance trips such a hassle. Luckily, you weren't alone this time.

Keigo Takami, a good friend of yours, decided to join along for your trip, as you were heading to the same place. Granted, it was for very different reasons. But you appreciated that he woke up at the crack of dawn to join you on your drive instead of taking his private jet.

Keigo (you've been on a first-name basis for a few years now) was traveling for a photoshoot for an American magazine known as Vanity Fair. They hoped to make him the model for the front cover and a travel article written by a journalist whose name he couldn't bother to remember.

The two of you had been on the road for quite some time now and you could feel your focus waning. You're surprised you lasted this long, considering the two hours of sleep you got last night. 

You looked over to Keigo, who was picking at his nails. Why he had chosen to come with you, you didn't know. He could've gotten so much more sleep and stayed behind without losing any time. But if you questioned all of his choices, you'd never stop asking.

But sometimes you had to know.

"Why'd you come with me?"

Keigo blinked, snapping out of his daze. "Oh, you know," he tilted his head to gaze at you through his eyelashes, "the early bird gets the worm." He joked.

You scoffed. Of course, he wouldn't give you a straight answer. Why would he? That would take all the fun out of frustrating you. 

And so you drove for another half hour.

"Let's switch," Keigo said.

"No, no. I got this." You assured -- more to yourself than to him. 

He placed his hand on your wrist. They felt surprisingly warm for someone who had the AC on full blast. Or maybe you were just that cold.

"Kid, you've almost driven us off the road four times already 'cus your mind was on something else." You opened your mouth to object, but he held up a finger to shush you. 

You huffed. "Fine. But only if you stop calling me kid. You're only a month older than me." You said as you pulled the car over.

"And I grew very mature in that one month, you'll understand when you're my age."

"I hate you."

He chuckled and you couldn't help but chuckle too. As if you could ever hate him. It just seemed so improbable.

The two of you got out of the car and switched seats. When you both got situated, you leaned down and plucked one of his stray red feathers from the floor. 

"You dropped something, oh wise and mature one." You teased. Keigo looked at the feather and smirked. 

"There'll be plenty more where that came from. Don't worry about it."

You pursed your lips, not wanting to leave it lying around. 

Without thinking too much into it, you took a stray strand of his hair and braided the feather into it. "What'd you do that for?" He asked, bemused.

You bit your cheek. "I just. . . wanted to put it somewhere. I can remove it if you want." 

You reached up to undo the braid, but Keigo swats your hand away. He glanced at himself in the mirror. "No -- leave it, leave it. Yeah, I kinda like it!" 

He smiles and you swear it feels like it's the only thing lighting the early morning road. 

You laid your head on his shoulder. "Yeah. . . I think so too."

Exhausted and free of the burden of driving, you drift off to sleep. And maybe it was your imagination, but you could feel a warm hand playing with your hair.

It was an hour later when you finally woke up. Maybe two. You don't remember when you fell asleep. But when you came to, you realized you weren't too far from the place you agreed on meeting your friend before going to the restaurant.

You smiled. Keigo hadn't moved your head from his shoulder. Something about it made your heart glow.

"Well welcome back, sleepyhead! Enjoy your nap?" Keigo asked. You sat up and stretched. The position you had fallen asleep in was more than uncomfortable to your spine and shoulders. 

"Mmm, need more."

"More sleep?"

You grunted and tried to nuzzle back into his shoulder. Keigo chuckled.

"Not now, kid. We're almost there." He said.

You groaned. Did you have to part ways so soon? You weren't ready to go to a party filled mostly with people you don't know. Why couldn't he come with you? It'd be so much more fun.

"Can you come to join me when you're done working?" You asked. 

Keigo raised a brow. "You want me to show up to a party with people I don't know?"

"Don't you always do that?"

Keigo rolled his eyes. "Inviting me along as your date!" he said, clicking his tongue "What will people think?"

"'Wow their date is so hot, I'm jealous!'" You exclaimed jokingly. 

He couldn't help but smile. How could he turn you down when you put it like that?

"You got a deal. I'll be your date."

You hummed. You had almost expected him to turn you down. Not because he wouldn't want to, but because his shoot would run too long. It was nice, though. Knowing he'd be with you.

It wasn't too long until you reached your destination. You got out of the car and said your goodbyes before he drove off to the shoot location. You couldn't help but wonder what they'd make him wear.

You shook the thought out of your mind and headed inside to meet your friend.

The party had finally moved to the restaurant and you were happy to recognize a few people there. A few were friends from middle school, someone you met through your friend's last birthday party, and, of course, your friend herself. 

You had asked her if it was okay that you invited Keigo without asking her first and she forgave you. "Any friend of yours is a friend of mine! Except for Madaya, that was a mess."

"One time! It was one time!"

To be honest, there was another reason your friend had invited you along. She secretly wanted to set you up with one of your friends from middle school who's had a crush on you since you were third years in high school. But you didn't know that. Not yet.

And there was another reason you came along. Your friend has been crushing on this girl from her office who you encouraged her to invite over today. 

Yes, romance was afoot. In many unsuspecting ways for some. 

Your friend glanced over at the girl she was crushing on. She was tall and chubby, with short curly hair. "I can't do this, she's way outta my league." Your friend muttered, fiddling with the hem of her pastel pink hijab. Today she had it clipped in place with sparkly gel butterfly clips.

You nudged her shoulder encouragingly. "No way! You kidding me? She keeps glancing over at you when you're not looking. It's so cute." You state.

She pursed her lips, still debating whether or not she should bother building the confidence. "You're doing it or I'm doing it for you!" You exclaimed. You loved her to pieces but she was such a pain about making decisions. Once, she took thirty minutes to decide on a pizza topping and immediately tried to change her mind after you placed the order.

The things we do for our friends.

She squealed. "Okay, fine! I'll do it!" She said quickly, wanting to spare herself from the embarrassment of you confessing for her. She scurried over to the girl and started blabbering endlessly asking if she enjoyed the party.

You sighed. She'll run out of conversation topics to stall with eventually. Especially at the pace she's going.

You decided to mingle amongst others while you waited for your friend to kiss her future girlfriend already.

Busy with socialization, you hadn't noticed Keigo enter the restaurant. He scanned the room for you and spotted you at the back of the restaurant talking with someone.

He made a beeline to you only to be stopped a meter or so away by some guy. 

"Hey, look, the birthday girl told me about you." The guy said. He looked fidgety and nervous. Was he an admirer or something?

"Did she now? Well, I'd be happy to-"

"I need you to give this to (Y/N)."

He shoved a folded letter into Keigo's hands and scuttled off without another word. Confused, he took the letter and opened it.

"I love you, (Y/N). I've had the biggest crush on you since year three and I can't bear not saying it any longer. If you feel the same, please meet me out in the parking lot."

Oh.

Oh, no.

Of course, it would happen on today of all days! The day he was finally going to ask you out just HAD to be the same as this guy.

He couldn't throw it out. As much as he feared the possibility you'd accept his confession, he couldn't deny you that. What kind of person would that make him?

But the thought of you being with anyone else set fire to his blood.

He rummaged through his pockets and grabbed a pen. Using his leg as a writing surface, he wrote his confession underneath the original.

"You, me, and that 2D cafe you're always talking about?"

It was quick and he wasn't satisfied, but he was panicking. He'd tell you in-depth how much you meant to him later. Preferably under the starry night sky. But you'd never get that in the city. Maybe he'd fly you out on a future date.

But none of that would matter if you had feelings for this other guy. It seems like you've known him way longer too. . .

He pushed the thought out of his mind. If that's what makes you happy, he wasn't going to stop you no matter how much it hurt him.

Keigo made his way towards you, and couldn't help but melt at the way your eyes lit up when you saw him. 

Hopefully, he hadn't imagined that look just to ease his anxiety.

You ran over and crushed him in a hug. "You're here!" You exclaimed.

He smirked. "I wouldn't miss the birthday party of a friend of a friend for the world!" He jested. There was something forced about the way he spoke, but you decided not to pry into it.

“You’re still wearing the feather.” You noted.

He reached up and twirled the feather between his fingers. “I told you I liked it, didn’t I?” He mumbled, his ears tinting pink. You scrunch your nose with a grin. He was so cute when he blushed.

"What's that?" You asked, pointing to the paper in Keigo's hand. He kept tracing the crinkled edge of the paper, almost as though he was trying to remember the feel of it and commit it to memory.

"Oh, this? Yeah, some guy gave it to me. Told me it was for you." He said, doing his best to cover the fear he felt within. He limply handed it over as though it were nothing.

You opened it and read the whole thing to yourself. Underneath it, you noticed a denser, messier script asking you out on a date. Despite the jarring tonal shift, you didn't suspect that someone else wrote it.

In fact, you smiled to yourself thinking how it kind of looked like Keigo's handwriting.

But it couldn't be. He wouldn't give a confession that lacked confidence like that. And you especially doubt that he would've written it down instead of strutting up to you. Plus, you didn't meet Keigo until after highschool. So none of this could be him.

But it's fun to dream.

Though it wasn't signed, you knew exactly who the letter was from. You shoved it in your pocket and excused yourself from the party.

If you had turned around, even if for just a moment, you would've seen Keigo's heartbroken expression as he saw you smile and head into the parking lot.

The parking lot was empty, save for a few cars and an empty KFC takeout bag. You shifted your weight anxiously. Where was he?

You looked around and spotted him leaning against the trunk of a shiny red car. Probably his . . . You thought.

Making your way towards him, you prepared your response to his letter. After being friends for so long, you had to do this right.

When he saw you, he practically beamed a smile at you. Even though the day was cloudy, his smile suddenly made it all seem so sunny.

"(Y/N)!" He exclaimed. Never in a million years had he thought that you would show up. Oh, he was just so happy he could kiss you.

And he went for it.

He pulled you in close and leaned in . . . 

. . . only to be stopped by your hand.

"Oh! I'm sorry. I should have asked first before I did that." He said apologetically, awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck.

You shook your head and took a deep breath. "No, that's not why I'm here."

You could almost feel the pain and confusion in his eyes when you said that. He let go of you and took a step back. "Then why are you here?"

"Because I didn't want to leave you hanging. I'm sorry -- I don't have feelings for you. You've always been one thing to me and that's a great friend. Plus, I . . . have feelings for someone else." You finished, rubbing your wrist.

There was a moment of silence as he digested what you said. Rejections were always hard for both parties. Even more so when both of you are good friends. It makes just the smallest bit of you worry if things will ever be the same between you two again.

At long last, he spoke. "I see. . . Thank you for telling me instead of standing me up. You should-- I-- Just. . . I need some time to be alone." He said.

You gave a small nod. "The party will still be there when you come back."

He huffed and turned away. You frowned, but there wasn't much else you could do but go back to the party.

When you got back inside, Keigo was nowhere to be found. You frowned. He couldn't have left without you, right?

You looked over to the birthday girl, now happily nuzzling into the neck of her new girlfriend. Her eyes met yours and she gave you a thumbs up.

You made a beeline towards her. "How's it going, lovebirds?"

Your friend could only giggle and kiss her in response. They were tooth-achingly sweet.

"Did you see where Keigo went?"

"Who?"

"The hot bird!"

"Oh! I just saw him go out the back exit. Thought he was looking for you.” Her girlfriend pulled her back in for another makeout session, leaving you alone to find where your friend had gone.

It wasn’t hard to find the back exit given the bright red “EXIT” sign right above it. You slipped out the door and scanned the area. The door led to an alley between this building and the next. It wasn’t very large in both length and width, so it wasn’t very difficult to find Keigo walking in the direction of the sidewalk.

“Wait!” You called out, rushing to catch up to him. He stopped and frowned as he looked at you. His expression sent a pang to your heart. What did you do to make him look at you like that? And how could you make sure you never ever did it again?

“How’s your new boyfriend doing?” He asked. Though he tried to cover it, he practically spat venom at the word ‘boyfriend’. “What do you mean?”

He cocked an eyebrow at your question. Surely you were joking, right? “The guy in the parking lot? You looked so happy to go see him.”

And that’s when everything kicked into place for you. The handwriting at the bottom of the letter didn’t just look like Keigo’s, it was Keigo’s! When you left to turn your friend down, he must’ve -- no! You can’t believe you made such an easy mistake!

“Keigo, I went to turn him down! I-- I have someone else I’m interested in.” You added shyly.

He pursed his lips. He couldn’t let his feelings get the better of him. “They sound awfully lucky.”

You giggled. “And he’s awfully dense, too.” You remarked, stepping closer to him. You interlaced one hand into his hair and held his waist with the other. 

It would be an outright lie to say the two of you had never been this physically close. But those were fleeting moments. Reaching over the other’s shoulder to grab something, a hug hello or goodbye, or just simply bumping into each other as you walked, forgetting what personal space meant.

No, this was more than that. This was an eternity in a moment. This was years worth of pent-up attraction reaching its breaking point as your hearts pounded in tandem. This was you, this was him, this was everything.

He grabbed your waist and pulled you closer, lips barely touching. Just enough to make you both crave it more than ever before.

“I love you,” He whispered.

“I know.”

With that, you kissed. Every single missed second together was thrown together in it. Every kiss when the other reached over their shoulder to grab something, a kiss hello or goodbye, and those heated kisses where your hands roamed each other’s bodies, forgetting what personal space meant.

I love you, I love you, I love you.

“I love you, Keigo Takami.”

It had been months since you and Keigo started dating. You were over at his place after staying the night. You found a pile of magazines lying on the table. 

Intrigued, you picked up the most recent issue of Vanity Fair with your boyfriend on the cover.

He was still wearing the fallen feather you had braided into his hair.


End file.
